Lantz Day
According to Courthouse News Service, Lantz Day filed the lawsuit in federal court over an incident that happened in November 2013. Day was involved in an accident and emerged from his car dazed and confused.
He was approached by Officer Joseph Young, who told him to lie on the ground. Day failed to do so, but complied when he saw Young reaching for his Taser. Video shot by a bystander showed Day getting up and attempting to run away. He was hit by Young’s Taser and the device was applied for 42 seconds. The video captured Day screaming in pain as he’s being hit with 50,000 volts.
After Day was tasered, he was arrested and spent two days in jail without receiving medical treatment. A medical evaluation later showed he had a concussion and back injuries.
The Taser is a controversial weapon. It was designed as a non-lethal device created to help police officers subdue suspects, but it is only supposed to be used for short periods of time. If used continuously or repeatedly it can cause death. According to a 2013 Amnesty International report, Tasers have resulted in 540 deaths since 2001. Officers have used the weapon on suspects who are already complying with orders. Reports have suggested police officers are using the weapon as a way to punish suspects, rather than get them to comply.
Courthouse News Service said investigators claim Day was belligerent at the scene of the accident, but he denies this. An internal investigation found Officer Young had violated department policy. The Fredericksburg Police Department later took disciplinary action against Young, retrained all officers and retrofitted department Tasers, so they could not be deployed for extended periods of time.
Day alleges that Fredericksburg Police Department officers have a history of overusing Tasers. He cited the case of Officer Shaun Jurgens, who used his Taser on local resident David Washington, after he had suffered a stroke. Jurgens eventually resigned from the police department in 2014.
“Until defendant Young was caught on video tasing Mr. Day and that video made headlines internationally, the FPD did not discipline a single officer for a use of force incident in 2013,” Day says.
Day is seeking $5 million for excessive force, negligence and other claims, according to Courthouse News Service.
